Six out of seven do not know heart failure signs

SIX OUT of seven Irish people do not recognise the symptoms of heart failure, a new survey has found.

A condition where the heart doesn’t pump efficiently enough to provide the blood the body needs, some 90,000 Irish people are living with heart failure. The survey, commissioned by the Irish Heart Foundation, found that just one in seven people recognises the main symptoms of the condition, which results in 20,000 hospital admissions each year.

With tell-tale signs including unexplained breathlessness, swollen ankles and severe tiredness, the poll carried out by Ipsos MRBI found that just 14 per cent of Irish people recognise them as symptoms of heart failure.

The survey of 1,000 people also showed that although 93 per cent of respondents were familiar with the term “heart failure”, three-quarters of people could not accurately explain it as a condition that prevents the heart from pumping as efficiently as it should.

Dr Angie Brown, medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation, said this lack of understanding was threatening lives.

“There is no doubt that low awareness of heart failure is responsible for high levels of avoidable death and suffering in communities throughout the country,” Dr Brown said.

“Because so few people understand how common and life threatening the condition is, they are not seeking the prompt medical assistance that can save their lives.”

Dr Brown said that with suitable treatment, patients could live an active and comfortable life, preventing the heart function getting worse and helping them live longer.

With 60 per cent of heart failure sufferers dying within five years, however, a rate higher than many of the most common forms of cancer, she said it was vital that people understood how deadly heart failure can be if left untreated.

With just 5 per cent of those polled citing treatment for high blood pressure as something that reduces the risk of heart failure and over half mistakenly citing chest pain as a symptom, Dr Brown said the results pointed to “dangerous levels of ignorance”.

She said with “little chance of the HSE undertaking an expensive awareness campaign”, people would have to “take it on themselves” to know the warning signs and minimise their risk with “regular exercise, a healthy diet, stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake”, as well as treating high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Talk in confidence to an Irish Heart Foundation nurse on the National Heart and Stroke Helpline 1890 432787 or visit irishheart.ie